Charles Oxnard

Charles Oxnard, Emeritus Professor in the School of Human Sciences at the University of Western Australia, earned his BSc with First Class Honours (1958), MB ChB with Richard’s Memorial Prize (1962), PhD Highly Commended (1976), and DSc (1976) from the University of Birmingham, UK. His distinguished career trajectory includes serving as Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Anatomy at the University of Birmingham (1962-1966), Professor of Anatomy, Anthropology, and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Chicago (1966-1978), University Professor—one of only five—Research Professor of Biology and Anatomy, and Professor of Anatomy at the University of Southern California (1978-1987), and Established Professor of Anatomy and Human Biology at UWA (1987-1997), where he also headed the department. Following retirement in 1997, he continued as Senior Honorary Research Fellow (1998 onwards), Adjunct Professor of Forensic Science (2007 onwards), and held visiting positions such as Leverhulme Professor at University College London (2001-2004) and Professor at Hull York Medical School (2004 onwards).

Throughout his over 70-year research career starting in 1952, Professor Oxnard pioneered advancements in anatomical dissection, bone measurement, multivariate statistical analyses, geometric morphometrics, and engineering models including photoelasticity, finite element analysis, Fast Lagrangian Analyses, and Fourier transform texture analysis. His investigations span skeletal and soft tissue structures, muscles, brains, animal locomotion, diets, environments, phylogenetic trees, and clinical issues like vitamin B12 deficiency, osteoporosis, ear ossicle pathologies, iodine deficiency, cretinism, and the Flores skeleton. Recent work addresses forensic bone applications and primate conservation in southwest China. A Fellow of the Chicago Academy of Sciences (FCAS), New York Academy of Sciences (FNYAS), American Association for the Advancement of Science (FAAAS), and Southern California Academy of Sciences (FSCAS), he has authored books such as Humans and Change: Seven Ideas out of the Ordinary (2024), Aiming at Medicine? Human Biology, Health Sciences and Medicine Futures (2023), and Change and Challenge in Human Structure – Sixty Years On (2023), alongside influential papers like “Southwest China, the last refuge of continental primates in East Asia” (2022). His research has attracted significant funding exceeding A$5 million in Australia alone, underscoring his profound impact on anatomy, biological anthropology, and morphometrics.

Professional Email: charles.oxnard@uwa.edu.au